Stipendiatin/Stipendiat: Dr. Oana Ciuzan

The purpose of this project is finding more about the role of abi3, abi4, abi5 and grp2, grp7, grp8 genes in the processes of germination and cold tolerance using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, in order to help solving problems related to loss of viability in the seeds preserved in gene banks.The genes encodig the glycine-rich protein (GRP) I would like to study during my PhD thesis include a single RNA recognition motif (RRM) preceding theglycine-rich region. There are two strands to the research in this project; one is genetic and the other biochemical. I wish to focus especially on what is happening in the context of seed germination and early development; that is why I have decided to analyze three GRP knockout mutants (GRP2, GRP7 and GRP8). This study is quite original in relation to what has been published in this direction for the GRP proteins. It is also of potential economic importance given the influence of these proteins in the germination process of the seeds and also in the early development of the plants.The literature also suggests that GRP proteins are linked to Abscisic acid (ABA)pathways. For this reason I will also study the genetic interaction between the GRP genes and genes involved in ABA pathways especially in the context of germination. I will be studying Arabidopsis mutants with knockout genes for abscisic acid (abi3, abi4, and abi5).The project includes three objectives: 1. Obtaining the Arabidopsis thaliana knock-out lines lines of interest and assessing their individual phenotypes in detail; 2. Assessment of the role of GRP proteins in cold resistance and ABA-mediated pathways including germination through genetic crosses; 3. A biochemical assessment of the function and intracellular interactions GRP2, GRP7 and GRP8 proteins.